Identity: Teate Marrucinorum, Chieti Alta and Chieti Scalo
The Comune recounts a legendary foundation attributed to Achilles and the Roman town of Teate Marrucinorum, with forum, theatre, amphitheatre and baths. In 1094 and 1443 the city received titles tied to its role as capital of the Abruzzi; according to the page, much of the present urban layout dates from «1600», a date tied to church building in the Counter-Reformation period.
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From the origins to Rome
According to the Comune's «Cenni storici» page, the foundation is a legend: Achilles is said to have founded the city in 1181 BC and named it Teate after his mother. Teate was the capital of the Marrucini and definitively entered the Roman sphere in 91 BC; it became a municipium and the region's economic centre. Among the Roman remains the page lists a forum, a theatre, an amphitheatre, an aqueduct and baths with a nine-room underground cistern, partly still visible.
Middle Ages and early modern period
The page reports that in 1094 Robert Guiscard proclaimed Teate «Città Capitale degli Abruzzi» and that in 1443 Alfonso V of Aragon granted it the title «Città Regia» and the status of regional capital. The urban layout the city largely keeps is, according to the page, the one dating from «1600», with church building in the Counter-Reformation period.
Two cities in one
The Comune describes two areas: Chieti Alta, the historic centre on the hill, and Chieti Scalo, the new and mainly commercial part in the valley, home of the university campus. In the pages consulted, the municipal site does not publish a list of quartieri or circoscrizioni and does not name a patron saint.
Data
Sources
Updated: 2026-10-20
Updated: 2026-10-20
Reviewed: 10/20/2026 · by piero.avolio · rev. 1 · Period: → 2027-10-31
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